Adventures in Cooking

Ever since I made the International Barbeque back in September, I've been restless with cooking.  Really bored of the same old same old, and wanting to try new things.

Very thankful for the internet which allows me to study recipes and compare them.  When I made the apple jams and apple butter and apple pie filling, I simply looked online and made adjustments according to what I had on me at that time.  The international bbq was the same thing.  I love the internet.

Recently, I was craving some candied orange peels that I had bought on one of my trips to a certain country.  Oh, they were good!  So I searched, and sure enough, there was a recipe.  Yum.

I made them.  Easy recipe with ingredients most people have on hand - oranges and sugar.  Some people like them dipped in dark chocolate coating, but I don't really.  I have never liked the combination of orange and chocolate.

I ate half of them the next day, though....

Today, I wanted to make some gingered pear perserves, but it called for candied ginger.  Candied ginger?  Never heard of it, but following my ease in candying orange peel, I thought I would give it a try.

Also fairly simple.

And oh, did it smell good!  I could not resist, so snuck a spoonful of the simmering gingered syrup.... mmm..

It was then I discovered I had made two things in one.  Candied ginger and a great sore throat soother!  The candied ginger will taste great tomorrow when it dries, but for now, that sweet, very gingery hot syrup is just the thing for soothing this nasty sore throat I have.

I sneeze horribly if I eat mint, so most cough drops do not really soothe anything for me, but this stuff is great!

If you want it, basically simmer cut ginger slices in a 50% sugar and water solution for twenty minutes or so - wow!

I am thinking it will also be a nice syrup to add to tea to make a great flavored ice tea.  Have to try that one tomorrow.... maybe green ice tea, and it would be like that stuff we get back home that my son loves.